Ham and Eggs at the Blue Hen Cafe

Ruby patiently stood in line with her friends; she was studying the menu and deciding what she would order for her breakfast. "I will have quiche and fruit" she said to the lady taking orders.

"Oh, I'm sorry" she said, "We are all out of quiche." "We are also out of cheese and mushrooms." she added.

Ruby re-evaluated her order and determined she would have bacon, eggs and hash browns. She paid the lady, grabbed a cup of coffee, and joined her friends toward the back of the restaurant where they found an available table.

They spent some time chatting about their last activity, taking school supplies to the homeless shelter for the children there. They discussed what was going on in each other's lives, and what was going on in the community, and the country. Ruby suddenly realized they had been waiting for some time now, and was silently worrying that they had been forgotten somehow.

Just then a large lady in a stained apron appeared by their table and announced "We only have enough potatoes for 2 meals, some of you will have to change your order." The ladies discussed the problem and arranged their compromise. Ruby knew that she would probably not get hash browns with her order and silently prepared herself for this.

The discussion continued, Gladiola Goldworthy's daughter is planning a wedding, they discussed that for a while. Clematis Periwinkle shared the woes of a recent dating experience. Daisy shared her 42nd floor experience at a hotel in Atlanta.

Ruby and Pansy noticed their coffee cups were empty and proceeded to the coffee pots to get a refill. A hollow sound was made by the vacuum pot when they pushed the top button, and they returned to the waiting ladies with empty cups.

After a lengthy discussion of the weather, orders began to arrive slowly, one-by-one. All but Ruby's. After a while, Ruby received her eggs and bacon, and very good toast made from fresh bakery bread. She requested eating utensils, and after asking, the cook provided her with a single fork.

"Hummm... they must be out of knives and spoons" Ruby thought.